On the Rooftop
by Nelauk
Summary: Francisco tells Lynn a story. ONE-SHOT


_Lynn looked up at the stars_ , feeling remarkably at peace. The sleepover was fun and all, but there were times where even she needed to be alone.

Lying down on the shingles, Lynn closed her eyes. To be perfectly honest, she could sleep up here, it was just so tranquil. It was interrupted, however, by the sound of somebody climbing up onto the roof.

Lynn smiled. She had no need to be angry. She knew who it was.

"Cold up here," said Francisco, coming to sit beside her. "How can you stand this?"

"Dude, it's only sixty," she chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna get sick up here."

Lynn giggled and gave him a gentle punch. "Figures, you're still used to that Cali heat."

Francisco scoffed. " _You'd_ probably be complaining when it hits the eighties over there."

"Lynn Loud doesn't _complain."_

"Okay…" A mischievous twinkle appeared in his eye. "Will this make you complain?" And he grabbed her into a hold and gave her a rough noogie.

"Q-Quit it! Ouch!" Lynn cried, half grimacing and half giggling.

"Now we're in the same boat." Letting go of her, the two children caught their breaths. Francisco was laughing, and when Lynn heard it she felt endlessly happy.

"Alright, but seriously though," said the boy. "Might take a while for me to get used to this weather. I've been spoiled by all those sunny days."

There was a note of longing in his voice, and Lynn heard it on the spot. "You still miss it, don't you?" she said.

"Yeah…" He looked off into the distance. "My friends are back there. I was pretty close to them."

Lynn gazed at him, feeling nothing but sympathy. She could see that faraway look in his eyes, the same that'd appear in Lincoln's sometimes whenever Ronnie Anne was brought up.

"Sounds tough," she said.

"We were joined at the hips and all. I'd always run around the city with em, y'know? Ride my bikes with em and shit. We'd do all kindsa stuff."

"Anything interesting?" Lynn asked.

"Yeah...there was this one time where me and Ramon-friend of mine-we'd explore these abandoned buildings. There was this hospital we explored one time and it was the spookiest shit. Like...there were dead animals and cockroaches and everything." 

Lynn shuddered at the thought, but gestured for him to go on.

"Anyway, that didn't stop us though. We went further in and that's when we heard this screaming sound."

She gave a small gasp of horror. "It wasn't Ramon, was it?"

"Well, he screamed when he heard it. Anyway…" He leaned in. "Turns out we stumbled into this squatter's home. He threw a beer bottle at us and told us to get outta here. It was pretty scary. I think he was gonna legit kill us." He chuckled. "Looking back on it though it was funny."

"That guy who threw the bottle at you sounds like Mr. Grouse," Lynn observed.

"Yeah…" Francis sighed. "Those were some good times."

 _He looks so sad…_ Lynn desperately wanted to hug her friend, or cuddle up to him, but she wondered if that would look weird.

"Damn, I'm freezing…" he murmured. On second thought, who cared if it looked weird or not. Lynn scooted up and leaned against him. To her relief, she felt Francisco draw her in.

"You're really warm," he sighed, pressing up against her. "You don't mind if I…?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

They both gazed at the stars together, sharing each other's warmth. Lynn looked at them and wondered what it was like, to be uprooted from the place and friends you've known all your life. She looked up at her friend and still saw that faraway look in his eyes.

"Why did you move here?" she asked.

"Move here?"

"Yeah."

Francisco looked into the distance as he remembered. "We were priced out."

"Priced out?"

"Some rich guys moved here and started opening businesses here. So the rent rose. And Lynn, you gotta know how expensive it is to live there…we were basically fucked."

"Oh…" Lynn said. "I'm really sorry."

"Not much we could do about it. People kept sayin' that them moving here would improve the neighborhood...but the fuck's the point of that when you can't even afford to stay there?" A note of bitterness crept into his voice. "Pretty sure they just wanted to get rid of us."

"But…" Lynn shrank a little under the boy's perceptive gaze. "I...I'd think that'd be a good thing. Your neighborhood getting improved."

"It'd be great if we could be around for that," said Francis dryly. "Mom and Dad barely hung onto the place as is. One time our air conditioner broke and we couldn't afford to replace it. I had to have all the windows open and a fan next to my bed during the summer." He took out a piece of gum and popped it into his mouth. "Dad was working in the grocery store a few blocks away, and it was shit pay, too. We were _this_ close to being homeless." He held two fingers an inch apart, sending a shudder through the young girl. "Luckily Dad ended up finding a good job here, so we don't gotta worry about being evicted."

"And now you're here."

"And now I'm here."

There was another awkward silence.

"I'm sorry," Lynn murmured.

Francisco stared at her. "What for?"

"I...I sounded stupid."

A smile lit up the boy's face. "It's cool," he said good-naturedly. "You're just learning."

Lynn played with the hem of her shirt. "Was it a nice house?" 

"As nice as we could afford. It was this little apartment…" He chuckled. "It was kinda like your place, in a way. Couldn't get no lick of privacy. The walls were thin as fuck so I could hear them fight or snore at night."

"But you had a room to yourself, didn't you?" Lynn said. "Man, I'd _kill_ for a room of my own."

"I don't blame ya. I don't know how the fuck you survive in there."

"Well, there's always a silver lining," said Lynn. "Living with a lot of siblings helps a lot when dealing with my teammates."

"True." Francisco reached into his pocket and handed a piece of gum to her. Gratefully Lynn took it and slid it into her mouth. Strawberry flavouring burst in her mouth.

"Yummy," she said cheerfully.

"I always get strawberry," said Francis.

"Anyways, um…before the rich people came there. What was it like?"

"You mean my neighborhood? It was...nice. I mean obviously it could get dangerous at times, but you just gotta have common sense about it."

He took out a tissue and spat his gum into it.

"All of my friends lived nearby, so I didn't have to go far. The school was close, too. So it wasn't that bad," Francis continued. "There were a few catches though. School was always short on money so all of our textbooks were outdated. Also the teachers didn't really give a shit, so the kids basically did whatever they wanted."

"Whatever they wanted?"

"We had a kid in my pre-algebra class selling weed in plain sight. The teachers couldn't be half assed to do anything about it!" He threw back his head in laughter. "So yeah, I mean, it made it fun in a way."

"That would _never_ happen at my school," Lynn said.

"You're all boring," said Francisco. "But seriously. The school sucked. But I did have plenty of friends to shoot the shit with."

Lynn grinned. "Well, that's what really matters, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" He scratched the back of his neck. "Almost everyday after school we'd drop by the store and get us some snacks. I always got gum."

"You _really_ like gum."

"It keeps me stimulated. But yeah…" said Francisco. "It was a nice store. The owner, Mr. Velasquez, was pretty nice. He'd always call us _los banditos._ I think…" He chewed on his lip. "I think the day his store closed was the day things began to go south."

"The first sign."

"After that happened things changed real quick. We heard the sound of moving trucks and saw these hipster dudes coming out with their stuff," said Francis. "Some fancy boba tea place opened where the store was. Neighbors started moving out. More hipsters came to replace them."

Lynn could see a tangible look of sadness come over his face. She tried her best to wonder what that was like-to be kicked out of your own home. _Maybe if Lincoln kicked me out of my room and told me that he was having that as second room or whatever._

"Soon enough the rent rose. My parents started fighting more. They were scared. _I_ was scared. I thought we were fucked."

"But he found the job, right?"

Francis nodded. "He did. But...God, I couldn't take it. I remember how mad I was when they first broke it to me." He hugged his legs, rested his cheek on his knees. "I'd be yelling at them, 'You'll have break every single bone in my body!' Stuff like that. I had a _life_ there."

"I'd be mad too," Lynn said.

"But, well, not much I could do about it. The day I moved, I…" He swallowed deeply, and Lynn noticed his eyes begin to shine a little. "I saw my friends, looking at me all confused as we drove away. It really fucking sucked."

He looked at Lynn, and she could plainly see him biting his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Life just ain't fair at times," he said.

Lynn snuggled up to him and closed her eyes. _I would've set all those stupid hipsters' houses on fire._

"I miss them, Lynn…" said Francis sadly.

"Do you still talk to them?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, but it ain't the same."

"Maybe one day you'll get to see them again."

"Maybe. Not right now. But what I _do_ have right now…" he said softly, "is you guys."

She smiled.

"And you, especially." His cheeks grew dark as he blushed. "I-I mean, like, you're the first friend I made here. And I really like hanging out with you."

She could hear the pounding of his heart, and in turn her own heartbeat sped up as well.

"When I'm with you, Lynn, I feel...okay. I feel like I can forget everything."

He was gazing at her, and in his eyes was no longer that distant look, but rather an infinite tenderness.

In that moment, they forgot about the cold.

There was a bumping sound then. "You guys! Richie's gonna start eating four hotdogs at the same time!" Polly called.

At this point Lynn and Francisco had jumped apart. The girl's heart fluttered upon realizing that their faces had been moving towards each other.

"I'll get the puke bucket," said Francis, getting up.

"And I'll be the referee!" Lynn exclaimed, rushing down to see the spectacle. "Betcha he'll wimp out!"


End file.
